Reactions To Victory Over Blackburn

April 3, 2012

1. A month ago today Manchester United were five points behind Manchester City at the top of the table. The blues’ had a goal difference superior to ours by 13. We are now five points clear at the top with just one goal difference, with us now having scored more than them. By the time City next play, we could be eight points clear at the top, assuming we beat QPR at home. What a turnaround. We have suffered far more injuries than them, we have spent nowhere near as much money as them, yet here we are, top of the league, and it feels bloody brilliant!

2. There were quite a few whinges from the away end last night, most likely due to the frustration we felt as time ticked on, but I thought our overall performance was pretty good. We were playing against a team which stuck eleven men behind the ball and that is difficult to infiltrate, particularly when playing just one man up top. We didn’t create as many chances as we’d like, due to their defence, but we kept the ball well and didn’t ever look like giving up. We had 73% possession in the first half, 74% in the second, and tirelessly kept bringing the ball forward. Three points well deserved.

3. Antonio Valencia, what a player. He was a constant threat last night but with few options in the box to aim at, struggled to have the impact he would have liked. Time and again he beat their left back but he couldn’t find a player to put it away. Eventually, he seemed to just shrug and think “fuck it”, before coming inside and smashing it across the goal. All night he had been linking up with Rafael, so it was fitting that the Brazilian got the assist. Some have said Robinson will feel like he should have done better from that angle. That’s a possibility but as the Blackburn player who was floored for a good minute in the second half, after blocking a Valencia shot with his face, would attest, our Tony has got a wicked shot on him and the power he gets behind the ball is incredible.

4. All night we had just been crying out for someone to get a shot away. Robinson had hardly anything to do, in contrast to David de Gea, who was called upon to make a couple of excellent saves. Goalkeeping coach Eric Steele ran on to the pitch at the final whistle to give de Gea a massive hug in celebration. Ashley Young probably felt the same frustration we did from the bench so when a half chance came to him, he took it. He received the ball with his back to goal, took one touch to turn, the smashed it just inside the post. That was the game wrapped up.

5. What I particularly enjoyed after Valencia’s goal, aside from his passionate celebration, which is somewhat of a rarity where our Ecuadorian is concerned, was seeing the most experienced players rallying the others. Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs were gripping our players and whilst you obviously couldn’t hear what they were saying, you imagine it was along the lines of “concentration now! Don’t let this one slip!”. Ferguson has talked about the importance of experience time and again and we saw it pay off again last night.

6. It was a privilege to be amongst the away support last night, who didn’t stop singing throughout the 90 minutes. “The fans were fantastic, they were unbelievable,” Ferguson said after the final whistle. “They deserve the result tonight because they never stopped, they urged us on the whole way. They almost sucked that ball in.” Song after song, we got louder as the game went on, before finally getting to sing my favourite of them all: “and now you’re gonna believe us, we’re gonna win the league!”

7. The formation was a strange one and I’m not entirely sure we wouldn’t have done better if we’d played Young from the start and gone for our usual 442. Rooney could have still dropped deeper if required but we had no options down the left wing for much of the game and this held us back. Rooney was out there sometimes, then he was centrally deep, then he was pushing forward, and it meant we lacked real shape. Even at 2-0 up, he was racing all over the field, getting in their faces, trying to prevent any counter, and this should be applauded. Having players like Rooney in your team make all the difference but I would prefer to see him playing in his proper position.

8. Phil Jones and Javier Hernandez were probably the only disappointments of the night, with neither covering themselves in glory. Hernandez rarely does well leading the line by himself, so it was strange that the manager preferred him over Danny Welbeck for this one. Jones looked lost in midfield and his first touch gave the ball away time and again. Jones received a mixed reception from his former club’s fans as he left the pitch, with some opting to boo whilst others gave a standing ovation. It can’t happen for all of the players all of the time though, so let’s hope they’ve got something to think about and work on before the weekend.

9. If you read through past reactions, you’ll see that no matter what the score is, I stick with my conviction that we’re going to win the league. Following news of Vidic’s season long injury, our entry in to the Europa League and being five points behind City, I wrote: It’s not all doom and gloom. We’ve got a good squad and we’ve got the best manager. I still think we’ll win the league, even if Vidic’s injury makes that a lot more difficult, and not having the annual Champions League quarter/semi finals to deal with in the last couple of months of the season will help with that. It should come as no surprise that now, with us five points clear at the top, I still think the title is staying at Old Trafford. That doesn’t necessarily mean it will be plain sailing from here. We should all know by now that United like to do things the hard way. But our lads won’t throw this one away. “They’re cracking up, they’re cracking up, they’re cracking, City’s cracking up!” we sang last night. Whilst their players are having barneys over who is going to take a freekick, our lads are all pulling together in the same direction. This will be one of the best title wins I can remember and I couldn’t be more proud of how we have coped this season so far. Come on United!

92 Comments

Yeah. 10 points better off and 13 points better off compared to the same 31 games from last season. We are fast approaching the total amount of points we got last season and there's still some way to go.

@ScholesForGoals

Yeah but even a half talen Valencia shot can be lethal. He knocked all the gel off his head. :lol:

@Balaji - Quality post at 10.14. Really good point about the under-estimation that goes on.

Gotta say, our experienced players really came to the fore last night. Rio was a rock, came up with a couple of crucial moments in the second half. Carrick and Scholesy ensured we never lost our composure, kept moving the ball. Rooney ran his socks off, played in about 3 different positions. I thought we looked at our most threatening when he came in off the flank and found pockets of space behind their midfield.

And then there was Giggsy, who showed just why he's probably the best impact sub in the League. I said last week that this should be his role - he's a bit of a liability when he starts.....but give him half an hour off the bench and he'll produce magic.

Heard a crazy stat that Tony V recieved 71 passes last night,Blackburn doubled teamed him and still couldn't do fuck all with him,agree entirely with STR didn't understand Rooney being played out of position and the 71 passes to Tony V proved Utd were out of shape and perdictable in going forward.

A good win BUT NOT a great one. For eighty minutes - apart from Chicharito's chance in the tenth minute (?) - TheLads posed little threat and, indeed, the score could easily have been 2-nil, for the home side. Possession does not equate with victory; goal scoring does !

Antonio Valencia's "50/50" shot/pass was the kind of difference maker that this match required. For sure, the same old/same old methods of the first eighty minutes weren't making much of an impression. Apart from the peripherality of the "attack", I was struck by the refusal the give-and-go into the area - smashing crosses into a crowded box works sometimes but not always.

As is often the case, SAF's team-sheet was - ahem ! - confusing. He must have known that Blackburn would drop deep, park-the-bus, and try for a hit-'em-on-the-counter. The only explanation for choosing MrJones ahead of Ashely Young/SirRyanGiggs must be that the game-plan was to wear them down and then instruct Antonio Valencia to befuddle the keeper with a shot on goal. I'm no great fan of Ashley Young but his goal was excellent - and very timely.

Contrary to a number of previous posters, I thought that TheWayneBoy had an awful game - he was the hallmark of "periperality". In contrast, I thought that Rafael was excellent, Evans and Rio, too, but that CaptainEvra was somewhat out-to-lunch as he was not especially dangerous going forward, despite being given the freedom-of-the-left-side (to my mind, Patrice is best when paired with Nani). From my seat, Scholes' passing was somewhat less "SatNav" but he showed a lot of feistiness (and Hanley should have been red-carded for that elbow - rather more vicious than Pepe Reina's laughable "head butt" the day before). Michael Carrick was, well, Michael Carrick and almost gave away a great chance with a dozey pass but, otherwise, did his thing in the usual way that he does his thing.

So, what about Chicharito ? HIs "miss" in the tenth minute (?) was the down-side of why the guy is so dangerous - but he can't convert every chance and that one was excruciatingly close to going in (directly or indirectly by rebounding off Robinson's arse). In the commentary-world of pantomime, Chicharito gets stick for his weak hold-up play but I have to admit that I didn't see that - what I saw was that he was isolated because SAF instructed TheWayneBoy to play wide left and deep so Chicharito was isolated.

@Wayne and Denton - I'm guessing Fergie wanted an extra man in the middle of the park coz he expected a battle - and a pairing of Carrick and Scholes by themselves isn't the best for that sort of game. Could've put Rooney up front on his own (would've done a better job than Chicharito) and Young wide left....but I don't think the gaffer trusted Young's defensive qualities, so he put Rooney on the left. The funny thing was, whenever we attacked, Rooney came inside anyway (coz Hernandez is not the type of player you can leave isolated, he needs as much support as possible.)

Welbeck would've been a good option, either for the lone striker role or the left wing role....but his performance last Monday was poor, maybe that played a part.

Had Anderson been fit, I'm certain he would've played ahead of Jones - gives us the same energy + a greater attacking threat. IMO, Jones wasn't suited to the role he was given, which is why we kept having to go out wide to Valencia. As Willie said though - at this stage of the season its about holding your nerve and getting the job done!

Sparkz @ 14:44: "I’m guessing Fergie wanted an extra man in the middle of the park coz he expected a battle"

I disagree - he must have known that there wouldn't be a "midfield battle" but, rather, a war-of-attrition with Blackburn conceding possession/territory and hoping to get lucky in the same way that they did at OT with three goals from three shots.

In a lot of matches, I'm puzzled by the strategy behind the team-sheet/selection. Usually, I'm wrong - or, at least, SAF is right BUT what continues to grate is his refusal to go with the 4-2-3-1 which gives fluidity and allows TheWayneBoy the chance to be his wonderful, undisciplined self. Right now, UTD have one great attacking player and that's MrAmbition - sure, Antonio Valencia is a handful but he's not unpredictable or a bag-of-tricks (like Nani).

For what it's worth, I'd like to see SAF go for something completely different up=front against QPR with TheWayneBoy leading the line, Nani/Valencia on the wings, and Ashley Young in the withdrawn-striker role. Call it 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-4 but more movement from the forwards, please.

STR Bravo. Way to be such a great traveling fan base. Makes me proud to be a Man Utd fan. I would have loved to see the Stewart's come and tell you to be quite, because Range Rover Prawn Sandwich eaters are being disturbed by you.

Question do fans have to travel to be themselves? Next great story by STR!!!

In the summer in Chicago I saw Man Utd kits every where!!! We bought our voice to Soldier Field!!!!!!

With regards to Valencia, I agree - he's direct and its very hard to stop him. Maybe occasionally he'll come up against a full back where his simple style of play won't work (Abidal last year!) but that's a rarity.

As long as the other guys in the forward line are more unpredictable (Nani, Welbeck, Rooney), I haven't got a problem with Valencia being predictable, he's a beast.

Denton - We could be here till next year talking about ifs, or maybes. As for the formation? We're critical of Fergie's reluctance to change it. There must of been a reason for playing Rooney in that role. Maybe it was a case of getting the win. And securing the 5 point lead. Whatever it was, it bloody well worked!

STR Brilliant write up and props to you for putting it up day after. More of the same please!!!!!

I was relegated to the tellie but want to say just one thing about the away end.

THAT THERE WAS UNITED SUPPORT!

12th man! Would not know there was a Rover fan in the stadium from what came through the TV. Breathtaking. Hats off to all the proper reds who were part of that! That is what I loved about the support 30 years ago when I was part of it. Didn't matter if we were tied or down a couple. Singing their hearts out just the same.

Loved Fergies Post match. Announcer was trying to make out that we were being handled the first 80 minutes but Fergie was having none of it. Sounded like it had been part of the game plan all along given the history of the fixture, keep at them down to wear em down, then bring on Giggs, Young and Welbeck. Credited DeGea and Rio as well, but the entire team put in a shift that saw fewer and fewer close markings for the last 20 minutes and gave Valencia the space to work the magic.

Subs:
Rovers: NONE! (big mistake? Well you just saw that coming from what they had on the bench)
United: 1 defensive, one controlling and one attacking player off (job done). 3 attacking players on (2 goals in 10 minutes)

@ Balaji - helluva post my fellow RED! loved it. just one thing though. SAF will not roll a dice again after this season ends. He rolls it throughout the season. We fans never really appreciated the role of Martin Ferguson in this whole 25 year reign of the great man. The "Godbrother" has made sure that SAF has been able to identify the right talent and take an informed call on who is worth the red shirt of this great club. The red shirt which was worn by not mere mortals such as Meredith, Best, Law, Charlton, Robbo, Giggs, Scholes, Nev x2 (I'm sure I'm missing loads of other great servants of this institution, will not defile their importance by writing "etc."; I'm hoping my young age can be a reasonable excuse for multi decade supporters here on this blog, apologies my dear friends).

Martin Ferguson, sir, I salute your talent and assistance to your brother through thick and thin. You, Lady Ferguson and the family are surely one of the most important factors that Sir Alex has been able to prove beyond measure his talent and genius to the footballing world and given us millions, such great unforgettable memories and the chance to interact and meet (in the case of Mike, King Eric, G12G0, James21 and others) other fellow reds as passionate about the club as the next person.

For what its worth, from 333 million fans across the world, let this be a small token of appreciation, Thank you.

I thought all the back 4 were great, Evra was practically a defender and a winger the whole night till Ashley came on and did 2 peoples jobs, Rafael's best game for a while.

Scholes & Carrick work well together, but I really don't see what SAF sees in Jones, for me he has been our weakest player this season and he contributed nothing, I do not know why he got a chance over Pogba and Ashley, he is not as good as them in MF. I do not see him as a MF, he is an Alan Smith utility man and not a very good one at that. He failed to link defence and attack, he ran into Rafa and Valencia's positions. Do not see why we bought him.

Pea had little service, he needs a player like Giggs to link with, he is also not playing as well. Re beefing up, he is built like a shit house, the issue is teams know him now and he is a little guy, he needs people like Giggs or Scholes or Rooney close by to play with. Welbeck seems to have gone off the boil. Young did well.

One thing that bugged me whole game was out lack of shots from distance and over reliance on the crosses, there were quite a few times I was screaming shoot just try and they would pass it wide. One thing about Darron Gibson, he would have hit a few at them from distance and that would have pulled them out of position to stop the shots as it was we hardly tried and shots from edge of box.

NBI @ 20:55: "Pea had little service, he needs a player like Giggs to link with, he is also not playing as well."

I'd agree with that - although it doesn't have to be Giggs. He's not going to be able to do his thing if he's only utilized as a "lead-the-line" striker. He's also very good at the give-and-go/wall-ball style of play that UTD seem to have largely forgone. There's no question that playing the ball out wide to Antonio Valencia is a very good strategy but it would be better if it wasn't the only attacking strategy ! Antonio Valencia is a "handful" and seems to have taken his game up a level, too. BUT his game is rather predictable and over-reliance on him unbalances the other parts of the team.

The issue with BOTH Valencia and Chicharito is that the predictability of the attack tends to allow the opposition the opportunity to devise strategies to nullify their strengths. Valencia is among the assists-leaders in the EPL and Chicharito is UTD's second-leading goal-scorer but, it seems to me, that the team game is better when they're not "featured". A more rounded, flexible attack would be better - and, I think that there are players who can provide that but when the formation/strategy is something of a straitjacket then Nani and Ashley Young and even TheWayneBoy are all, to some extent, neutralized.

Like I wrote before (@ 15:59), " ’d like to see SAF go for something completely different up=front against QPR with TheWayneBoy leading the line, Nani/Valencia on the wings, and Ashley Young in the withdrawn-striker role. Call it 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-4 but more movement from the forwards, please."

Absolutely brilliant. Scott's summary captures it perfectly. The support was awe-inspiring (I'm not going to say 'awesome', like some kid who likes REM or some other stadium rock-band. ) Let's see the Old Trafford crowd live up to the away support , staring against QPR.